# Dedication explained — The Thirty-Nine Steps

> Chapter companion for The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan.

## What happens

The author dedicates the book to Thomas Arthur Nelson, recalling their shared fondness for the 'shocker' genre—a type of adventure story that stretches the boundaries of probability. He explains that the book was written during an illness when he ran out of such tales to read.

## Themes in this chapter

### The Shocker Genre

The dedication explicitly defines the book as a 'shocker'—a romance where incidents defy probabilities but remain just inside the possible.

## Character check-ins

### Thomas Arthur Nelson

The dedicatee, addressed as 'My Dear Tommy', a friend with whom the author shares a love for shocker tales.

## Key lines

> You and I have long cherished an affection for that elemental type of tale which Americans call the 'dime novel' and which we know as the 'shocker'—the romance where the incidents defy the probabilities, and march just inside the borders of the possible.

We have always loved the kind of story known in America as a 'dime novel' and in Britain as a 'shocker'—an adventure where events are wildly improbable yet still plausible.

_The author defines the genre of the book and his shared taste with the dedicatee._

> During an illness last winter I exhausted my store of those aids to cheerfulness, and was driven to write one for myself.

When I was sick last winter, I ran out of such entertaining stories and had to write one of my own.

_The author explains the origin of the book as a personal remedy for boredom during illness._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_thirty_nine_steps_se/chapters/dedication
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_thirty_nine_steps_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_thirty_nine_steps_se/chapters